Recent results of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness show Lubbock Independent School District students improved in more areas than not, but scores took heavy hits in eighth-grade science and social studies compared to last year.

Overall, the local scores were comparable to how students across the state did, said Lisa Leach, LISD assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.

“For the third year, the state has really not shown gains,” she said. “In a lot of areas, some of those areas that we decreased in were mirrored by the state.”

LISD showed improvement in every elementary subject except third-grade reading. The district was also pleased with cohort performance — comparing last year’s third-grade scores with this year’s fourth-graders, for example.

The preliminary scores from LISD include the second administration of reading and math tests in grades 5 and 8 — tests students have three tries to pass in order to advance to the next grade level.

According to a news release from the Texas Education Agency, 82 percent of eighth-grade students in Texas passed the STAAR reading test on their first attempt. Sixth-graders recorded the largest increase of 6 percentage points over results from the previous school year. With the exception of fourth-grade, however, all other grades showed some slight decrease from the 2012–13 school year.

“Assessments help determine whether a student has grasped certain concepts in basic subjects over the course of the school year,” said Commissioner of Education Michael Williams in the release. “There are those who now step forward to argue that assessments do not measure everything occurring on a campus, in a district or with the whole child. To that point, I wholeheartedly agree. As I visit schools across our state, I am reminded of that point often. However, assessments are essential in identifying whether students require early support for basic subjects in our public education system.”

LISD high-schoolers scored better on end-of-course exams in algebra 1 and biology than classes did in 2013. Fifty-seven percent of students — which includes STAAR–L, a test with linguistic accommodations for students who have been in the U.S. for three years or less — passed English I, and 61 percent passed English II. The U.S. history test claimed the highest end-of-course exam passing rate at 93 percent.

The Texas Education Agency has not yet released accountability ratings for districts and is expected to do so in August.

The test questions will also be revealed in August, Leach said, at which time the district can evaluate why seventh- and eighth-grade scores dropped. In reading, math and writing, seventh-graders fell behind last year’s class by 1 to 3 percentage points.

Eighth-graders matched the 2013 score in reading but fell behind by two percentage points in math. Science scores went from 69 percent passing in 2013 to 61 percent in 2014, and social studies also showed a drop — from 61 to 56 percent.

There may be a disconnect between the test questions and the statewide curriculum, Leach said, since state numbers also went down.

“We are really waiting to see what was tested ... and see where we missed the boat with our kids,” she said.

The purpose of releasing the preliminary data was to give campuses the opportunity to focus on individual areas of student achievement during the summer, Leach said, and campuses are taking advantage of that.